Workers survey damage at Black Hawk statue

OREGON, Ill. — Workers are surveying a massive, century-old concrete statue of a Native American tribal chief that looks over the Rock River in northern Illinois.

Engineers are trying to assess the condition of The Eternal Indian statue, which is also known as the Black Hawk statue. The 48-foot-tall concrete sculpture in Oregon was built in 1911 to honor Chief Black Hawk, who died in 1937.

The piece is being surveyed by structural engineers who are using high-tech scanners to track damage to the statue, which has cracks and large pieces of dislodged concrete.

The assessment and repairs are expected to cost more than $625,000.

The Ogle County site that's about 20 miles southwest of Rockford draws about 400,000 visitors a year.